1

I am at the very beginning of my journey.

As I understand, suffering and the escape of it are central parts of Buddhism. (Though the notation "all life is suffering" seems to be a misinterpretation.)

Are there schools of Buddhism catering to those who see no major suffering in their lives, and hence do not feel any urge to end such?

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

The scripture MN 117 explains there are two sorts of Right View or two sorts of Buddha's teaching, namely: (i) supramundane/transcendent; and (ii) mundane/worldly.

The mundane/worldly teachings that focus on avoiding bad kamma, doing good kamma and 'rebirth' are less focused on suffering & the cessation of suffering.

These 'kamma & rebirth' teachings are for the ordinary people called 'puthujjana' who are spiritually blind and naturally unable to discern the unsatisfactoriness and meaninglessness of the world.

These mundane/worldly teachings are to prevent ordinary people inflicting self-harm upon themselves and others.

These mundane/worldly teachings not only include moral teachings but also teachings about generating loving-kindness towards all beings.

Improve this answer
2

Sure, there's a school called Dzogchen (a subschool of Nyingma line of Tibetan Buddhism) catering to those who see the universe as Great Perfection.

There's Zen, which is for those much more interested in attaining Enlightenment or in discovering their true nature than in such things as suffering.

In general Mahayana-type schools are much less concerned about our own suffering and more about understanding the nature of reality and applying that understanding in our real lives to help those who are more confused than we are.

Improve this answer
3
  • Just a small correction, Dzogchen teachings are found in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Tantrayana Buddhism. They are also taught in Tibetan Bön, the pre-Buddhist shamanic tradition (but now widely considered a school of Buddhism).
    – StillJustJames
    Commented Dec 29, 2020 at 11:23
  • This does not fairly represent either the teachings of the Mahayana, Dzogchen and Zen, or those of other schools that, by implication, are said to be focused on suffering to the exclusion of other things. All Buddhist schools subscribe fully to the Four Truths of suffering as the foundational teaching -- that's one of the crucial beliefs that makes them Buddhist.
    – David Lewis
    Commented Jan 6, 2021 at 13:08
  • In Mahayana we do talk about suffering in context of cultivating compassion to others (this is why above I qualified it with "our own" - please pay attention)... but I swear I never heard the word suffering mentioned in context of Zen or Dzogchen.
    – Andriy Volkov ♦
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 2:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .